Interfaith Prayer Vigil Honors Two Sikh Elders in Elk Grove, Calif.

Interfaith residents of Elk Grove, Calif. gathered on March 11 for a prayer vigil to honor two elderly Sikh community members who were gunned down early this month during their routine walk through the neighborhood. One of the victims in the shooting, 67-year-old Surinder Singh, suffered fatal wounds while his friend, 78-year-old Gurmej Atwal, remains in critical condition.

East Stockton Boulevard, a busy Elk Grove road was temporarily closed to traffic as residents of different ethnicities and religions lit candles and listened as a series of speakers, including the grandson and granddaughters of Singh, spoke solemnly about the tragic loss of their family member.

Many members of the community fear that the shootings were a hate-motivated crime and that the two might have been mistaken for people of Muslim faith. Just feet away from where the two were shot, Sikh and Muslim residents called for interfaith acceptance and respect.